READING CULTURE

The results of a survey conducted in the Kenyan system of education still traumatises me. I remember it was right after the overall dismal performance of the standard eight candidates. What traumatised me was that candidates due to sit for the examinations could not read! Reading a sentence in seamless flow was a task akin to building the great wall of china! If the basic of the basic of the basic is not taken care of, that 'third world' tag will be here to stay.

Another alarming thing was that candidates of these schools did not come from marginal areas, it was right within Nairobi, the capital city. These revelations beg to define what the substance of our education system really is. No wonder the youth have no back-able reading culture, because it was not nurtured from the onset.

A lot of factors contribute to this though. Poverty, inaccessibility to learning materials and squalid learning factors are just a few. This ultimately does lowers the morale of the teaching staff. With free primary education, a number of schools got an overwhelming influx of children eager to gain knowledge. This put a strain on the facilities and the teaching staff. Hence, child growth was replaced by covering the syllabus on time.

ts sad to think of someone who will never battle with Shakespeare's ideals, mourn with Chinua and Ngugi on the erosion of our culture, Rejoice with Maya on her celebration of the woman, be encouraged by Stephen Covey and be thrilled with a dose of Dan Brown and a splash of Sidney Sheldon.

Spread a book, an article even a menu! as long as it can be read. Abraham Lincoln imparts some wisdom '' A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been accessed by others''. That's the only way anyone will begin to advance- Get reading!

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Voices of Youth (VOY) was founded in 1995 as UNICEF’s online place for young people to learn more about issues affecting their world. VOY was recently redesigned for a more modern youth audience and is now the go-to place where you can know more, learn more and do more about our world! You can share your thoughts and opinions with thousands of people from all over the world. You can also discuss social issues such as Education, Environment or Violence and Conflict and inform yourself about HIV/AIDS, Health or Human Rights.